Formula 1 Team McLaren Want an Official eSports Simulator Driver

8 May 2017 16:02

Formula 1 team McLaren has launched an historic eSports competition for gamers, with the winner receiving a one-year contract as the team’s official simulator driver.

It is the first-time Formula 1 has delved into the eSports industry, and the ‘World’s Fastest Gamer’ (WFG) challenge will see the world’s best virtual racers compete against each other for the chance to win this incredible prize.

The winner will work with McLaren engineers at the team’s Woking-based headquarters, and will travel to Grand Prix circuits around the world to help develop the F1 cars driven by Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Launched in partnership with Logitech, the process will see players face off playing several different racing games. Six international finalists will be picked by F1 and gaming experts, with a further four chosen from online qualifying events this summer.

The final will then be held this autumn at the McLaren Technology Centre, with those ten gamers ultimately battling it out for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The entire competition will be streamed live on YouTube and McLaren’s social media accounts.

A host of big name sports teams have recently signed eSports players to their ranks, including football clubs New York City and Paris Saint Germain, as well as NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, and it is encouraging to see Formula 1 gaming fanatics will get the chance to live their dreams through McLaren.